All the big guns on Artillery Hill were hauled away nearly eighty years ago, but the fort still has one cannon on the premises. It’s the lone piece of ordnance that serves as the sentinel for the small military cemetery on the southwest corner of Fort Worden. The cemetery, established in 1898, is the final resting place for veterans beginning with the Spanish-American War to Vietnam. The internment of Sergeant Albert Spengler of the 71st Company of the Coast Artillery Corps on November 11, 1902 was the first recorded burial. When constructed, the grounds did not have a monument honoring the deceased. It was through the efforts of Chaplain Easterbrook (see last month’s article) that an appropriate memorial was erected.

The first cannon mounted in the center of the cemetery was a 100 pound (weight of the projectile) Parrott gun that came off the Civil War era revenue cutter “Jeff Davis.” Captain J.H. Wayson, a retired revenue cutter officer, purchased the salvaged cannon and hauled it to his home in the valley near the fort. Wayson, who bought the cannon in the early 1900’s, lost interest in the purchase since the cannon remained in the yard where it was offloaded. For several years the heavy gun slowly sank into the earth. A July 4, 1916 Leader article notes, “there was little more than the muzzle showing above the sod.” The article describes Chaplain Easterbrook’s successful efforts to convince Captain Wayson to give up the cannon, recording, “…once the Parrott cannon was donated other public spirited individuals contributed labor, material, and money to install the gun on a cement carriage and concrete foundation.” 

The local effort to install a suitable memorial in the Fort Worden cemetery did not go unnoticed by the Army. It was later replaced by another cannon acquired through proper channels. This one was a Navy Dahlgren 32 pounder. Arguably a more fitting memorial since the fort was named for a naval officer (Worden was the commanding officer of the USS Monitor which carried Dahlgren guns). For a half century this gun served as the backdrop for veterans posing for Memorial Day photos until it too was replaced.

In the lead up to the Civil War centennial celebration in 1961, National Parks collected Civil War ordnance from parks and cemeteries in the west and relocated the guns to Civil War battlefields and sites in the east. Fort Worden received its third and current gun, a 1918 French made 155mm Schneider howitzer. Although not nearly as apropos as the Dahlgren, the hundred year old howitzer reflects the fort’s initial growth as an Army training post during World War I. 

Regardless of the cannon type, the gun is the most conspicuous item in the place of burial and easily seen by passersby as they skirt around on the road bordering the fort and its west gate. It serves as a reminder that the plot of land in this corner of the park is dedicated to our veterans. This Memorial Day on May 28th at 10am, a simple ceremony will be held at Fort Worden’s Military Cemetery to honor our deceased veterans. All are welcome.